When I returned to Ushuaia I went back to the party hostel that I had booked. Had chosen this one because I was going to be here for New Years and I wanted people to celebrate with. Good idea and simultaneously a bad idea! Met with Judith, Dan and Maryanne from the boat for lunch and went on the internet for a while. When I returned to the hostel I discovered that my room was next to the laundry and sleep was impossible. Ended up chatting to my roommates and others over dinner and we stayed up late drinking and chatting. The next day we were woken bright and early by the spin cycle on the washing machine...the wall was actually shaking in our room. By the time nine o'clock arrived I was ready for my bed but had paid for the BBQ and free drink for the New Year's Eve party so dragged myself to it. The others from last night were suffering similarly and we tried to convince each other that we would feel better after forcing down hair of the dog. I managed to make it to about 3 in the morning before feeling like I would collapse if I didn't get to sleep. I reckon that my body was not able to handle the continuous run of late nights and little sleep since heading to Antarctica. For the next few days I didn't really do anything of much interest. The main trips from Ushuaia were to see the penguins from a boat and to a small glacier. Having seen penguins up close the former was of little interest even though they were a different type and I reckoned after Antarctica and the Perito Moreno glacier that going to see a small one was a waste of time. I ended up going to the National Park of Tierra del Fuego for a day's hiking out of pure boredom. It was good there and we saw a family of geese and also came across a herd of wild horses. It is the place that reminds me most of Ireland - it is probably the greenest place that I have been to and has rolling hills and lots of beech trees. It reminded me of the `Sunday Walks´ we used to be forced to go on with my parents up the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. We picked a good day to go as it was mostly sunshine. The weather in Ushuaia changes rapidly and frequently. It can be sunny one moment and windy and snowy the next. My final night I ended up having a conversation with Ernesto from Argentina who has little English and Craig from Oz who has just as much Spanish. It was quite strange as I was acting as a translator which is a completely new experience. My spanish isn't great still but it was a nice confidence boost to be able to help others communicate. By the time the 6th of January came along I was more than ready to leave but best laid plans and all that...
